Items Tagged with 'appraisal process'

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Reggora, a Boston-based startup that claims its software can “streamline the appraisal process,” now has $3 million in its coffers to help grow it business. According to the company, its software “condenses and streamlines appraisals by automating traditionally manual processes such as finding appraisers, scheduling appraisal inspections and reviewing the final appraisal product.”

Bowery Valuation, which claims that it’s the “world’s first tech-driven commercial appraisal firm,” announced this week that it raised $12 million in its Series A funding round to continue developing its technology and power its growth.

CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, announced Thursday that it acquired a la mode technologies as part of the continued growth of its valuations division. But appraisers are wary of the change, asking, “what doesn’t CoreLogic own?”

In today's Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: A federal judge recently granted class-action status to a lawsuit alleging that Countrywide Financial used LandSafe to conduct “sham” appraisals to increase the number of loans Countrywide originated during the mid-2000s. Plus, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was accused of some mortgage misconduct. Click the headline for more.

Even as housing demand heats up, the perceived lack of appraisers and lengthy appraiser process is giving all-cash buyers the upper hand in negotiating deals. Experts from Urban Institute point out three ways to bring in more appraisers to the housing industry and shorten the process.

Recent data from Ellie Mae showed that it takes about a month and a half on average to close a mortgage. Several speakers at Wednesday’s housing summit hosted by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic said that closing times could conceivably be much shorter than that, even as little as 10 days. So what’s keeping lenders from closing a loan in a week and a half instead of a month and a half? Appraisers.

One of the thorniest issues surrounding mortgage lending is the fees established by appraisal management companies and paid to appraisers for property appraisals, but that could change soon, thanks to a technological innovation created by an AMC.

Appraisal management companies that operate in the state of Idaho will soon have a wide-ranging set of regulations they are required to adhere to, thanks to new legislation that Gov. Butch Otter signed into law last week.

By using the Global DMS eTrac platform, CMG Financial's contacts to multiple AMCs will become centralized, thereby establishing a seamless workflow. Further, they say, the new tech will help ensure loan quality and compliance.

Commentary

Every day, people in your community are looking for a new place to call home. But in the age of the digital shift, they are now getting most of that information from their mobile devices rather than more traditional sources.